Attempted robbery thwarted at gas station

CARLSBAD — An armed man tried to rob a gas station food shop Saturday night but was thwarted when a customer walked into the store, Carlsbad police said Sunday.

The would-be robber walked into the Valero station on Carlsbad Village Drive about 9:45 p.m. and bought a pack of M&Ms with $5, police said.

As the clerk handed him his change the suspect took out a black handgun and threatened her with it, police said.

The startled woman backed away from the counter and just then a customer walked in. The man put the gun away and left and was last seen heading north on Harding Street, police said.

He was described as black, about 25 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 160 pounds with a goatee. He was wearing a black beanie, a black hooded sweatshirt with red and gray print on the front, blue jeans, black shoes and glasses with yellow lenses, police said.